Provence rosé: Panel tasting results

Elizabeth Gabay MW, Joanna Simon and Rod Smith MW tasted 178 wines with one exception and four outstanding.

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their latest-release dry, still Provence rosé wines from any Provence sub-appellation

The verdict

A ‘really lovely and interesting tasting’, said Rod Smith MW. ‘It showed the quality of the 2019 vintage, which was clearly superior to 2018, with fewer issues of heat stress and cases where grapes were picked early at the expense of flavour, or less flavour at the expense of freshness.’

Liz Gabay MW agreed that the 2019s ‘really stood out’ and, despite some ‘cut-and-paste’ wines, praised the diversity of style throughout the tasting. ‘This year I felt we were getting more regional definition and varietal character – a massive plus and very promising.’

Joanna Simon equally reiterated the quality of the 2019s, which she ‘wasn’t aware of prior to the tasting’.

Scroll down to see the top scoring wines of the tasting

For Gabay, the cru classé wines were ‘the biggest surprise’. ‘The classification is historic, with wines quite often a higher price because of it,’ she said. ‘There is scepticism in Provence that they don’t produce anything different, but as a range here they had much greater intensity of fruit, so they are clearly trying to live up to that cru classé standard.’ Simon equally ‘wasn’t expecting quite that definition of quality’, or ‘the very distinctive profiles – I’ve not seen that before, they really were a step up’.

Low points were the ‘similar, identikit wines’, said Smith. ‘It seems as if everyone was trying to make the same wine, and succeeding – and that applied to 60%-70% of them. It arguably shows consistency, but it’s a little bit boring, especially given that some of these will be quite expensive wines.’ Gabay added: ‘There weren’t any that were bad, it’s just boredom.’

So, how do producers stand out? ‘With great difficulty,’ said Smith. ‘The wines are reliable, but just a little bit safe. There’s room within rosé for a little bit more – not risk, but not to rest on their laurels either.’

He added: ‘Provence can’t just trade on reputation, especially given the prices charged for just being good and from Provence – and the consumer is discovering that. The best are very good and they fulfil the stereotype, but the blandest aren’t, and as wines they don’t necessarily compete in terms of price.’

Ste-Victoire was praised as a ‘go-to’ appellation, as was Bandol, the two regions notching up three and six wines respectively in the top 13 that scored 91pts or more. But the judges warned it’s still not enough on which to generalise, so it’s worth knowing producers and reading the notes here.

Colours ranged from dark pink to pale blush. ‘Sometimes it becomes confusing for consumers to see such diversity, because they think all these wines should be pale,’ Smith noted. ‘But pale doesn’t always mean good – once you’re stripping out colour you’re also homogenising flavour.’

Smith flew the flag for the Tibouren grape. Though it’s difficult to grow, ‘all the wines that had a high percentage did well – they really worked, coming across as very floral’. A Sangiovese-dominant wine also piqued the judges’ interest, as did the IGP wines, leaving them wanting to see more submitted for this tasting in the future.

For the perfect rosé, Smith said you need ‘creaminess from the lees, phenolics from the skin giving enough but not too much fruitiness, acidity and weight, and many of them had all of those in good harmony.’

As for what to drink when, Smith said: ‘At the beginning of the summer, try drinking the end of last year’s rosés rather than the early new ones [2019], especially if they’ve only just been bottled. People think it has to be the youngest vintage, but it doesn’t.’

Discussion copy by Georgie Hindle.

See all wines tasted here

The scores

178 wines tasted

Exceptional 1

Outstanding 4

Highly Recommended 32

Recommended 95

Commended 40

Fair 5

Poor 1

Faulty 0

About Provence rosé

The consistent style of the dry rosés in this beautiful, sprawling part of southeast France can make nuances hard to distinguish. But there are quality cues to look for, explains Elizabeth Gabay MW

Provence runs from the Mediterranean coast in the south to the foothills of the southern Alps in the north, from the Rhône valley in the west to Italy in the east. Winemakers work to reconcile ‘Provence’ as a unifying brand expressing regional identity.

There are eight appellations: Côtes de Provence, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence and Coteaux Varois-en-Provence are the three main producers. Bandol, famous for big reds, was traditionally a producer of structural, ageable rosés, but today many are lighter in style for early summer drinking.

Tiny Palette and Bellet, in the city of Nice, both produce some rosé, as do Cassis, known for its white wines, and Les Baux-de-Provence. There are also a number of IGP labels, with IGP Méditerranée covering the entire region. 90% of production is rosé.

Essential Provence

Côtes de Provence covers a large area, with regional sub-zones identified: La Londe and Pierrefeu, just inland, are both on schist soils, typically giving their wines a mineral edge. The limestone slopes of Ste-Victoire produce wines with broader, fresher acidity, emphasised by some altitude. Fréjus, on the red volcanic slopes of the Esterel massif, produces wines with more structure, while the newest region, Notre-Dame des Anges in the warm central valley of Provence, produces rounder, ripe fruit.

Coteaux d’Aix, equally diverse, has no indicated sub-zones. Coteaux Varois is based on cooler uplands stretching to the north.

There are 18 estates in the Côtes de Provence classed as cru classé – a designation created in 1955, as much as 22 years before the appellation itself – their reputation based on history rather than commonality of terroir.

Wines with denomination de terroir, cru classé, and from the smaller appellations of Cassis, Les Baux and Bellet are often pricier. Coteaux Varois, Coteaux d’Aix and the IGP wines offer excellent value, with IGP sometimes a second label or a more experimental wine from better-known estates.

The wines are blends, with Grenache and Cinsault as the primary varieties, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre and Syrah variously contributing blacker fruit notes. Braquet is unique to Bellet. A quarter of production is made by family-owned estates, the rest by cooperatives and négociants who blend across the region, giving a single Provence style.

Most rosés are pale, historically proof that the wine was not a by-product of red wine. While some today are extraordinarily pale, verging on blanc de noir, a few are a shade darker, often reflecting a fruitier style.

Provence offers dry rosés, the simplest balanced by ripe fruit, the more complex having weight and structure. It is usually this latter style which best handles the use of oak – contentious, with claims its heftiness masks the delicacy of a true Provence rosé. Most wines are able to age well for two to three years, some for longer. Almost one third of the wines are organic.

Provence rosé: know your vintages 2019

A good vintage, in terms of both size and quality. Good to age, with some showing better after a year in bottle.

2018 A small, weaker vintage where négociant wines saved the day with strategic blending. Particularly pale colour. Most to drink up, but some surprises with a few ageing well.

2017 A small vintage due to spring frosts and a hot, dry summer. Good quality, good fruit. Ageing well.

2016 A small, dry vintage with concentrated berries resulting in fruity rosés, although some lack essential freshness and acidity. Best to drink.

2015 Small vintage but excellent quality. Ageing well, drink up.

2014 A cool vintage which resulted in fresh vibrant rosés. Ageing well, drink up.

Provence rose: the facts

Côtes de Provence 20,100ha, 420* domaines, 39 cooperatives, 90% rosé

Coteaux d’Aix 4,127ha, 65* domaines, 12 cooperatives, 82.5% rosé

Coteaux Varois 2,633ha, 77* domaines, 10 cooperatives, 90% rosé

Bandol 1,600ha, 59 domaines, 4 cooperatives, 73% rosé

Les Baux 243ha, 11 domaines, 0 cooperatives, 45% rosé

Cassis 200ha, 12 domaines, 0 cooperatives, 27% rosé

Bellet 58ha, 10 domaines, 0 cooperatives, 33% rosé

Palette 45ha, 4 domaines, 0 cooperatives, 15% rosé

Source: CIVP; *Includes >100 négociants

Top scoring Provence rosé wines

See all wines tasted here